Winners and Losers
by Foxgloves-H
Summary: The match between Kaijou and Touou. Kise gives everything he has on the court and yet he loses once again. The story deals with the result of the match. Aomine / Kise.
1. Defeat

Well hello there. This is my first fanfiction ever so yeah. There won't be too many chapters and the rating may change to M for lemons. I think. Not sure yet. Oh well, Aomine / Kise here. Enjoy!

Time seemed to stop. The public, who waited for the result of the match with their breaths caught in their throats, encouraging both teams, stopped talking. Silence reigned over the court and nothing seemed to move in that split second. He had his eyes open, pointing towards the board, yet his mind couldn't fathom what had just happened. It had taken him less than a minute to understand, to fully process the information. He gave it all and lost. His team fought with everything it's got but sometimes _everything just wasn't enough_. Pain and sadness rushed through his heart with every passing second. The moment passed and the public made itself felt,resuming their shouting. It was a good match, of that he was aware. It was one of the best matches with two of the generation of miracles' members as rival protagonists. That didn't help soothe him, though.

Nothing could help right now.

He vaguely remembered he wasn't alone on court and turned his head around, looking for his teammates. Their faces blank, he was unable to read them. His was mostlikely the same. It takes time for reality to sink in after everyone gives their best until the very end, after victory seems so close. He had always admired Daiki, ever since he had met him for the first time. That stupid impulsive boy somehow became his goal. The point he wanted to reach. He gave it all for that sole purpose and now he had finally managed to force Daiki to give his all too, conscious and afraid of a very possible loss. They were on the same level and he was so close. So fucking close. It felt as though he could actually grasp victory, he touched it with his fingertips and almost caught it, almost..

..until it was violently snatched away from him.

''Both teams, line up!''

The voice barely reached his ears, a small part of him still unable to accept such a painful and undeserved loss; because to him, it was undeserved. Unfair. They all played at their best, they DESERVED it so why didn't they win? He finally tried to get up, then miserably fell again, his legs incapable of supporting him anymore. Why? Why couldn't he get up? Why did his body act like this after playing on the same level with Aomine? Was the difference in their strenght so great that his body couldn't even respond after just a match? Slowly raising his head, he saw Touou's famous ace, walking just fine. The pain in his chest increased tenfold. Aomine walked in his direction but it wasn't him who offered his hand. Kasamatsu stood tall and proud, keeping his head high, unwilling to lower it in front of the rival team. They played at their best and had absolutely nothing to be ashamed about.

''Can you stand?''

''Senpai, I..'' He stopped, voice broken, already unable to control his emotions. When had he become so weak?

His teammate forced him to stand up, helping him reach the meeting point, but he didn't feel like facing Aomine again so he kept his head low. _'There's nothing for a winner to say to a loser'_ , and Kise was the loser. He always had been against Daiki, after all. He hated himself; he was pathetically crying and even though he was the team's ace it was Kasamatsu who encouraged everyone, who kept the team's morale up. It was Kasamatsu who was the pillar of the team right now, the one every single member clinged to for support. Among the regret and pain overwhelming him, he could still find himself deeply admiring his senpai's strengh.

Even though he couldn't see him, facing the pavement as he was, Aomine's presence was that of a giant, bigger than Murasakibara, more invincible than Akashi. He most likely wasn't, but it felt as though as he was to Kise. The two teams moved, their aces as opposite poles; they both had the public's eyes on them, yet Aomine was walking as a victor whereas Kise was pitifully being carried away as a loser. He had never known what it was like to put everything, every single breath and move into a goal and then not reach it. He had never known it and now that he did it hurt so much he could barely breathe. He tried. He did everything he could. The whole team was relaying on HIM and he miserably failed. He disappointed everyone. He turned to look behind once more, at the victors of the match.

If only he was stronger, it could have been them.


	2. Rivals

Well hello again. I decided to cut out the lemon (sorry) because I really didn't know how to get them to that part so yeah.

He asked Kasamatsu to leave him behind for now; he needed some time alone to cool down. His senpai didn't seem too happy about abandoning his friend but left him be after not too long, leaving the gym with the rest of the team. Kise gave out a long sigh of relief and allowed himself to finally relax on the bench, lowering his gaze on the pavement. He had done it a lot after the defeat, really. He thought about giving up on the team and then mentally smacked himself in Kasamatsu's stead for overreacting so much over a simple match. It happened. You can't always be the winner, no matter how much you try.

That doesn't make it any easier, though.

Deeply lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the footsteps approaching the locker room until the visitor was already inside. Kise raised his head, expecting Kasamatsu to have come look for him, maybe carry him out of the depression hole he was in. It wasn't Kasamatsu, though. They looked at each other and Kise couldn't help showing evident surprise on his face. He couldn't be blamed, really.

''Aomine?'' He couldn't help the surprise in his voice either. 'There was nothing for a winner to say to a loser' so why was Aomiine in front of him, the loser, now? He felt sadness and something worse, more powerful. Was it anger? Hate? No, he knew what it was. Envy. Kise envied his rival because even though he had the impressive ability he was born with, he still couldn't beat him. His power was still inferior to Aomine's, but how was that possible? He copied his every move, his every breath, so why couldn't he reach him? He deep down knew why. Copies were simply that; always a step behind the original. They could reflect their target in every way possible, but they would still be just cheap copies. Anger and hate bubbled up inside him and surpassed the envy he was feeling. It was so damn frustrating.

''Well? What do you want?'' This time there was no genuine surprise. Aomine didn't speak and it only helped fuel his anger. He eyed his rival, maybe wishing to burn him down with his gaze. And yet Aomine didn't burn; he stood unscathed and walked closer to him, his aura menacing as he approached, forcing him to stand up.

''You're pathetic'' His words hurt more than they should have. They sent a painful stab deep inside his chest and all he wanted was to go away.

''Fuck you'' He answered instead, because he wouldn't run away from Aomine. He would not give that boy the satisfaction of seeing him run and hide himself like a scared cat searching for shelter from the big bad dog. Aomine didn't answer his unusual words -because it was unusual for Kise to speak in a certain way, but it was understandable given the situation- and chose to move even closer instead. Aomine seemed at a loss of words for a second, almost distressed, and yet he seemed no less of a menace to Kise.

''You're pathetic because you should be practicing right now instead of whining over having been defeated.''

''Funny, coming from you.'' The ace of Touou, who barely ever attended practice, was scolding him for skipping? He wasn't even skipping, an official match just ended moments ago, there was no damn practice to attend.

Aomine seemed nervous again and Kise was slowly starting to realize what he was actually doing there. He had known the boy for enough time to understand his poor attempt to cheer him up. He almost smiled, thinking that conforting someone was not amongst the few things Aomine was good at. He kept quiet, though, waiting for his rival's next move. A shocking move, really. Aomine's face lit up with newly found resolve and he approached him further, annulling the distance separating them.

Aomine gripped Kise's arm, pushing him against the wall and his lips forced themselves on the blond's. The fist came hard and straight in the face, leaving a dark bruise on Aomine's cheek. He did it instinctively, he didn't mean to hit him. His knuckles were burning and he seemed even more shocked than the victim'.

''What the hell is wrong with you?''

The other boy didn't move. Small drops of blood were falling from his lip; he touched it with his fingertips.

Kise was troubled. He wasn't sure what he should do; Aomine did that on purpose, he kissed him and he didn't know how he should feel about it. Was he tryingto further humiliate him in some strange cruel way? Why kiss him, though? There were other ways his rival was more accustomed to. After a few seconds in which neither one moved, the blond decided to leave. He made his way to the door and was stopped by a firm grip on his wrist. ''Stop, I wanna talk to you.''

''Well I don't!'' He didn't mean to take it out on Aomine, really, but he was way too distressed to be able to talk normally after what had happened. He wanted to go home, take a shower, have a hot meal and clear his head. He needed time to thoroughly think this over and ponder over the possible things Aomine may tell him and the possible answers he should give. Too bad Aomine wasn't going to let him.

''I just need a minute dumbass, sit down and listen.'' It didn't seem like he could say no, so Kise decided to comply, but only for the moment. After a few minutes in which neither one of them said anything, though, he snapped at the boy. ''Well? Are you going to talk any time soon or can I just go for a nap in the meanwhile?''

''Shut the hell up, I'm thinking!''

''Yes yes, take your time!''

''You're so stupid''

''IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO TELL ME?!''

''Nah. Listen. You up for a one on one?''

He was confused for a split second, but soon after a small smile crept on his lips.

''Yeah'' He kind of felt okay, now. He wasn't sure how things would end up but it didn't really matter, they would have plenty of time to think about it.


End file.
